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Abstract
Effective vaccine adjuvants and formulations often fail to achieve FDA approval due to their adverse immunostimulation. In particular, over-activation of the NF-κB pathway via pattern recognition receptors results in excess inflammation and harmful side effects. Previous work in our lab has shown that our anti-inflammatory immune potentiators in solution with a TLR9 agonist, CpG ODN 1826, successfully increased antibody response while reducing inflammation in both Dengue, HIV, and lethal influenza challenge. We applied this model to the SARS-CoV-2 model and proved that the immune potentiators could be beneficial additives for improving coronavirus subunit vaccines. Although this method is suitable for initiating immune responses, it may not solve issues with long-term protection.Controlled release particle vaccinations that discharge agonist and antigen encapsulants in a slow, continuous manner have been reported to produce higher and longer-lasting antibody titers than their unencapsulated counterpart. Our data displayed that depending on the immune potentiator selected, the immune potentiator could make higher antibody levels than CpG OVA microparticle vaccines and outperform their unencapsulated counterpart. By using particles as the delivery method, we can further control the release mechanism and timing of the payload to the immune system. To further prevent the release, we coated our microparticles with a secondary and tertiary polymer. Thus, once injected, the outer polymer coatings will eventually degrade, revealing the microparticle core and allowing the encapsulants to remain dormant inside the body. By using the proper polymer coatings, we may generate a single-dose vaccine. A single dose vaccination will reduce the need for multiple boost vaccinations, eliminating the need for numerous visits to the doctor. These repeat visits are a challenge for individuals living in low-access medical communities. Therefore, a single-dose vaccination can potentially increase the number of patients receiving adequate protection. The coating procedure proposed in the study is a simple two-pot synthesis. It has the potential to generate single-dose vaccinations, increasing the availability of the vaccine for those in low-access medical assistance communities.